Eve

‘Eve Yoga’. Here’s the professional stuff:

I’ve been teaching for a long time: 36 years. And, practicing yoga since 1971. I started training yoga teachers in the early nineties, first through Sydney Yoga Centre, and then Nature Care College. Somewhere in there I founded and directed two yoga schools. I also have led, and still do, workshops and courses on a variety of yoga subjects.

Simon and Schuster published my book, Teach Yourself Yoga in 1997, and later I wrote an e-book, The Art of Adjustment . I’ve written yoga-related articles for overseas and Australian periodicals, too. More recently, I’ve produced audio and video recordings.

I was a relatively early adopter of blogging–2006. I’ve been at it for ten years, at times almost daily writing for ‘Yoga Suits Her’. My business partner, Gretta, and I created a product called YogaAnywhere practice cards for people who want to do yoga at home.

On a personal level:

In 2009 I moved to Mitchells Island, NSW, where I’m part of a small community with my husband Daniel and four other kindred spirits.You can read all about us in an Amazon book called Shedders. It’s the story of how the six of us have been trailblazing retirees.

Years ago I saw the possibility of living a gentler life, one more in tune with Nature and in synch with how I wanted to teach yoga and practice it. The stunning beauty of my environment, the rich diversity of wildlife and the peace, quiet and fresh air I enjoy are intrinsic to my yoga practice. I managed to create an amazing vision with the help of my friends and am now living it.

Even more personally:

I love walking on the beach at Manning Point or Salt Water Beach at almost any time or in any weather. For fun, I like to arrange evenings where we play games like Pictionary or The Dictionary Game with friends . Good food, great coffee, and a fine glass of wine bring me joy.

I’m an avid reader; this last year I’ve enjoyed The Neapolitan Diaries and Barkskins.

I always try to remember people’s names because I think that doing that is a gift to them. Hopefully, if we haven’t met in person, I’ll get to learn your name one day, and remember it!

Yoga is the longest relationship I’ve had, and, as you can probably guess, I adore it almost as much as I love my husband, Daniel.

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32 Comments

Hi darling,
So lovely to hang awhile with you on Friday—-we are both wonderous woman on wonderful walking legs!!!!!
The mind is amazing really—I never want to forget this fact and just being able to watch the dance it does without getting hooked any which way is the gracefullness of getting the lesson.
BIG HUG Necie

Great to have that time to debrief, Necie, and acknowledge ourselves for a brilliant recovery and insights along the way.
I’ll be back in Sydney in a month, and perhaps we’ll have another get together? XO Eve

I’m Megan. A friend of mine told me about your double hip replacement earlier this year, wow that is amazing.

You have inspired me. I was born with bilateral hip dysplasia which was only detected when i was eight, an artificial shelf was attempted on my right hip but was unsuccessful. So I have just had to wait it out until I was old enough to get them replaced. I am now 25 and wanting to see the world, obviously trekking is a major part of travelling. So I have decided to go have the operations. Because if my condition, a double is not a option for me.

My friends have really got into yoga over the last couple of years but I have been hesitant as I thought it might make the arthritis worse. Hearing about you has given me hope.

The first operation is in July this year and I was wondering if you had any suggestions for yoga positions that would get me on the right path for a fast, successful recovery.

You have inspired me. I was born with bilateral hip dysplasia which was only detected when i was eight, an artificial shelf was attempted on my right hip but was unsuccessful. So I have just had to wait it out until I was old enough to get them replaced. I am now 25 and wanting to see the world, obviously trekking is a major part of travelling. So I have decided to go have the operations. Because if my condition, a double is not a option for me.
+1

You have inspired me. I was born with bilateral hip dysplasia which was only detected when i was eight, an artificial shelf was attempted on my right hip but was unsuccessful. So I have just had to wait it out until I was old enough to get them replaced. I am now 25 and wanting to see the world, obviously trekking is a major part of travelling. So I have decided to go have the operations. Because if my condition, a double is not a option for me.+1
+1

Dear Eve, My orthopedic surgeon, who replaced my right hip Dec 2010 referred me to you. You must have drawn upon all your inner resources to get you thru such major life changing surgery. I hope your recovery was successful .
Regards Catherine

Hi Eve, It is now 10 weeks since my THR. I very cautiously got down on my mat after about week 4 . I have lost some degree of external ROM but mainly above that 90%. Are you still able to enjoy Matsyasana, Prasritta Trikonasana, Extentions, Kapotasana variations. Have you been able to maintain much of your previous asana practice & do you now avoid certain postures or modify these positions. Although I am extremely grateful to have had my hip done , never the less it has been quite the learning curve and so feeling the big adjustment Im needing to make. Catherine

Hi Catherine,
It’s such a big breakthrough to get down on the mat at last!
Yes, big adjustments are the order of the day after THR’s. My attitude to yoga practice is to tune into my body as it is now and practice awareness. I have a different body than I did 20 years ago and different still to the one I had just before surgery. Some poses come more easily than 15 mo. ago and others are more difficult to practice than 20 yrs. ago.
I’m so happy and grateful for my yoga. Do I miss things I can’t do now? Not really. As a 66 yr. old, I could be dissatisfied about not having great eyesight or boundless energy, but instead I focus on what I do have – some of which benefits come from reflective practices like pranayama and meditation.
Having said all this, I’m pleased when – because of rehabilitating so well – I can do a pose I couldn’t attempt a few months ago.
Stay in touch. I’d love to hear how you go.
Namaste, Eve

Hi Dear Eve! Not sure if you remember me but you were my first teacher at The Sydney Yoga Center when I passed through 23 years ago. I’m originally from Louisiana and was in Sydney on a temporary stint as a photo model. I certainly haven’t forgotten you. For one reason or another, I never maintained a regular yoga practice until now, and your encouragement and sublime nuts and bolts teaching style have stayed with me. I have heard your voice repeatedly over the years in the occasional class, and now that I’m establishing a regular practice, I hear you all the time. I have such fond memories of those first classes and of meeting you. I would love to catch up with you. Kayla Allen

Goodness, Kayla, how did you find me? I remember you very well….I think I might still even have a photo of you from some publication from way back then. Nothing pleases me more than when someone takes up personal yoga practice, so congratulations! Thank you for your very kind words. I see that you subscribed to my blog so you’ll find lots of information about me there – where I live, whom I’m with and what I’m up to. I believe you are in Shreveport, Louisiana. Is that correct? And what are you up to? XO Eve

Hey Eve! I found your website just by searching for you on the internet. As I said, you’ve been so “with” me since April when I started a regular practice that I felt compelled to seek you out. I’ve enjoyed reading your blog and am so pleased to reconnect. Can we catch up through e-mail? I assume you have access to my e-mail address. Looking forward to it. Kayla

Hi Eve,
I’m scheduled for Rt hip replacement on May 3rd at QE2 Hosp, Brisbane. The specialist says I need both hips replacing but will not do them together. Been trying to get to your Blog re your recovery after bi lat hip replacement but after an hour have decided to email you.
I am a Hatha Yoga Teacher and been pracising Ashtanga but due to increasing pain from arthritis am only able to do a few postures.
I did not discuss options of posterior or anterior approaches in surgery, nor discuss fully my lifestyle of Yoga and Strength Training, with the specialist, due to being overwelmed by the reality of cost, recovery, time off work etc. How much choice do we have? He will not do a re surfacing and wants to use a ceramic prosthetic. He did say it would give good range of movement and last a lifetime, all good, but I did not mention yoga! I am 56 and regard myself as very fit and wanting to maintain as much as posible.
Did you discuss the anterior verses posterior surgery with your specialist and which did you have? I have read that one way seems better for internal rotation postures and the other for external rotation, have you found this or does it even out after full recovery, eg a year? I am not sure if I should just write to him or try for another appointment.
Any info would be much appreciated
Namaste
Gail

Hi Gail,
I really appreciate your comments and questions. I’ve had many such queries over the years re. hip osteoarthritis and surgery because of my experience with them and with yoga.
I’m going to reply via today’s blog post because I think that way I can satisfy others’ curiosity.
Kind regards,
Eve G.

Hi Eve, I am so delighted to find your blog, I am facing (right leg only) at age 50 in September, and was nervous that my yoga days would be over, thank you for sharing your experiences – it is really heartening. I was interested to see Gail’s anterior v posterior query but I couldn’t find your reply – I am hoping for anterior surgery as it minimises muscle damage, did you have any views, would you mind directing me to them? Thanks so much.

Hi Diane,
Sorry you couldn’t find the post I wrote about hip surgery. Here’s the link to it:https://eveyoga.com/2012/02/25/4561/
Hope there’s some useful info there.
There’s definitely a future you who will be back into your yoga post-surgery but you will have to be patient. We are very lucky to be living in these times where the procedure is accessible – albeit sometimes expensive – and so successful.
Please fire off any other questions after you’ve read the post.
Kind regards, and namaste,
Eve

Hi Gail,
I imagine you have had your hip surgery by now, and are through the “danger period” where you have to be very careful as your wound tissues heal.
I wonder if you did rehab with the physiotherapists post-surgery.
It’s really important to have second and third opinions with orthopaedic surgeons so that you make the best decision regarding type of prosthesis and surgery.
Consultations can be overwhelming when there’s so much new information being presented and any background fear about having major surgery. I had my husband come with me for my visits,
so he knew what was involved, and also to perhaps remember details that I might have missed. The internet is a great resource pre and post surgery.
Please let me know how you are and if you a gradually taking up yoga practice again.
Kind regards, and namaste,
Eve

We met last year by the coffee machines at the yoga conference in Melbourne and I was very inspired by you, so much so that I decided to start my own blog after subscribing to yours and reading it for several months. After much hesitation and self doubt I launched my own blog earlier this year, yogatogrow.com.au, and I wanted to thank you for starting me on my way.

Also wanted to say I am loving your sutra posts, wonderful way for me to revisit them and read some new translations.

Well, I’ll be darned. You never know when a little word in the ear makes a difference. I’m so happy you are blogging. I read your blog and thought it’s terrific. What a great image – looking at the world through yoga tinted glasses. It’s true!

Do you really teach yoga in a prison? You are a brave woman!

I subscribed to your blog, but don’t know if it worked. If there are any secrets to doing it, let me know.

I teach irregular classes at a nearby womens prison as part of a program they run and taught for 6 months at an immigration detention centre, that was a tougher gig as there were many language barriers as you can imagine. Both were daunting to begin but I like to think of taking yoga to where it is needed most and the feedback I get from them is all positive, they sure do need it!

If your subscription doesn’t work let me know and I’ll see if I can sort it out – you should have been sent a confirmation email to finalise the subscription.

I stumbled on your website through picking up a Yoga magazine in the Perth Library. I have recently moved from Nelson NZ to Perth as I decided I needed a new challenge and am about to start working in the mines. I am a 57 year old woman looking for some yoga connections. I have had a couple of false starts. I attended my first and last Bikram Yoga session, I could recognise some of the yoga moves but I would call it more gymnastics with the instructor at the front with a microphone in her ear, yelling make it hurt with the temp at a steady 40 degrees, wasn’t quite what I had in mind.
I have a daily practice but would like a yoga community and classes to keep me motivated. Do you know of any yoga teachers in Perth that you could recommend? I just tried to buy some of your resources online, but unfortunately you don’t post to a PO Box. My physical address is not delivered to as I live in a converted church in the inner city. Is there any other way I could get some of your lovely cards?

Great to hear of your intention to take up sensible yoga and are looking for the company of like-minded people. I think the YogaAnywhere Basics pack would be a great tool for yoga practice.

I can recommend a yoga teacher who studied with me years ago, Genevieve O’Cleary: 0417 231 875[email protected]

Re. ordering the cards – I had no idea that our system wouldn’t send to an email account. I can’t figure out what the problem could be. Our online system doesn’t mail anything to any address. It just sends a message to me to tell me where to send it. It’s possible that PayPal doesn’t work unless you provide a physical address. If that’s the case you could simply give PayPal a physical address but give us your post box information in the delivery information. Then we can mail the cards to whatever address you like.

If that doesn’t work we can certainly work something else out. I could provide you with our bank account details and the amount including postage and we’ll send you whatever you’d like. Let me know what will work for you.

I used to go to your yoga classes in St. Leonards in 1999 and I have your first book “Teach yourself Yog” which you signed personally and I still use it to this day and find it invaluable and will never part with it. Yoga is my longest relationship I have been doing it since 1993 and the reason why it is my longest relationship is because I always make time for it even if it is only for half an hour a day, 3 day a week and I am always thinking about yoga.

I have some other Yoga books, a block, a strap, two yoga matts and two rugs. I go to yoga classes on and off or I practice yoga at home in my tv room. And Yoga has helped my in times when things in your life do not go according to plan. I am also a qualified Meditation Facilitator from Nature Care College at St. Leonards. And wish to study Breathwork as well as Bach Flowers and Reflexology.

Well must go for now it was nice catching up with you and I hope everything works out well for you and your husband at Mitchells Island.

Well, how great to hear from you, Helen. It’s always music to my ears to hear that students take enough interest in yoga to want to practice it at home.
Twenty years of yoga!

Thank you for your kind comments about Teach Yourself Yoga. We’re going to have a revised version of the book out soon.

I understand completely how big a support yoga can be in tough times.

Are you teaching meditation at this time? Mindfulness meditation is what I’ve come to love, and it’s made all the difference in my doing the practice regularly.
It’s powerfully ‘gentle-fying’. Hope you stay in touch via this blog at least. Namaste!

Hello Eve,
We met briefly at the end of the day, in Donna
Fahri’s workshop.
I am Kate Bell’s student!
I thought so many times about how to learn more about this teacher everybody talks about…
I already subscribed to your blog and I am so thankful that technology and your writing will provide me with the opportunity to know more about your Yoga.
Hoping providence allows another encounter somewhere.
Sandra Marcourakis

Hi Sandra,
Very nice to hear from you and stay in touch. Did you get a lot out of the sessions with Donna? I did. You’ll see exactly what in this week’s blog post.
I hope we get to meet again. You are in good hands with dear Kate! Kindly, E.

Hi Eve,
I work for Samsara Mind and Body in London and I was just wondering if I could write a blog post for you? I’ve got a few ideas up my sleeve I think you might like 🙂
If you’d like me to contribute just let me know and I’ll send over some of my ideas.
Thanks and have a great day.
Megan

Hi Megan from London,
Nice to meet you via on the Yoga Suits Her blog. How did you find your way here, I wonder?
Do you teach yoga? Do you teach Rocket Yoga? I’d never heard of that one till I found my way to SamsaraMindandBody.com.
You’ve intrigued me. I’d like to hear your ideas.
Namaste, Eve